Apparatus for finishing endless metallic belts



Sheet INVENTOR VERNON A PHELPS ATTORNEYS March 25, 1969 v. A. PHELPS APPARATUS FOR FINISHING ENDLESS METALLIC BELTS F iled Nov. 21, 1966 March 25, 1969 v. A. PHELPS 3,434,240

APPARATUS FOR FINISHING ENDLESS METALLIC BELTS Filed Nov. 21, 1966 Sheet 2 of 4 INVENTOR VERNON A. PHELPS WMMWW ATTORNEYS March 25, 1969 V. A. PHELPS APPARATUS FOR FINISHING ENDLESS METALLIC BELTS Filed NOV. 21, 1966 Sheet INVENTOR VERNON A. PHELPS BY r ' ATTORNEYS March 25, 1969 v. A. PHELPS 3,434,240

APPARATUS FOR FINISHING ENDLESS METALLIC BELTS Filed Nov. 21, 1966 Sheet '4 of 4 INVENTOR VERNON A. PHELPS ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,434,240 APPARATUS FOR FINISHING ENDLESS METALLIC BELTS Vernon A. Phelps, Ann Arbor, Mich., assignor to Hoover Ball and Bearing Company, Saline, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Nov. 21, 1966, Ser. No. 595,802 Int. Cl. B246 29/00, 7/12 US. Cl. 51-5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates generally to precision machining apparatus and more particularly to improved apparatus for finishing endless belts.

Some machinery utilizes endless belts of considerable width which are now made of metal and which must be finished so that the belt is of uniform thickness and has smooth surfaces. The continuous molding machine illustrated in US. Patent No. 3,206,009, owned by the assignee of this application, is an example of machinery requiring belts of this type. Equipment presently available commercially is not capable of finishing belts of this type. It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide improved apparatus for finishing belts to a uniform thickness with smooth surfaces.

In the apparatus of this invention, the belt to be finished is trained about a pair of spaced substantially parallel rolls one of which is rotated so that the belt is driven about the rolls. The other roll is mounted so that the positions of the roll ends can be adjusted to accommodate belts having edges of slightly different lengths. The adjustable roll can then be positioned so that when a belt is trained about the rolls the belt can be driven along a path which is perpendicular to the drive roll axis. This structure for adjusting the positions of the roll is such that once the roll is positioned, it can be locked in the desired position. A grinding wheel is mounted on a slide which is parallel to the drive roll so that the wheel can be moved past the moving belt along a path perfectly parallel to the drive roll to machine the belt to a precise uniform thickness. The rolls are provided with coatings, such as dense polyurethane, which are relatively hard but less hard than the belt material so that a belt mounted on the rolls will not have its surface impaired, and means are provided on the apparatus for mounting reciprocating bufling wheels for movement into engagement with a moving belt to provide the desired final finish on the belt.

A further object of this invention, therefore, is to provide improved apparatus for finishing endless belts which is reliable in operation over a prolonged service life.

Further objects, features and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of this invention, with a bufling apparatus broken away for the purpose of clarity;

FIGURE 2 is an end view of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIGURE 4 is a foreshortened fragmentary sectional view of the drive roll portion of the apparatus of this invention as viewed from substantially the line 4-4 in FIG. 2; and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional vieW of the roll locking structure in the apparatus of this invention as seen from substantially the line 5-5 in FIG. 1.

With reference to the drawing, the apparatus of this invention, indicated generally at 10, is illustrated in FIG. 1 as including a base 12 which is adapted to be floor mounted, and a frame 14 positioned above and in a spaced relation with the base 12. For convenience of description, the frame 14 is hereinafter referred to as having a pair of ends 16 and 18, which are spaced apart in a horizontal direction, and a pair of sides 20 and 22, which are spaced apart in a vertical direction. A structural member 24 is mounted on the base 12 and connected to the end 18 of the frame 14 so as to support the frame 14 in the position illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings in which the side 22 of the frame 14 is spaced above the base 12.

Upper and lower rolls 26 and 28, respectively, are mounted on the frame 14 adjacent the sides 20 and 22 thereof. The lower roll 28 (FIG. 4) constitutes the drive roll and is mounted at its ends in bearings 30 carried by support members 32 which form part of the frame 14 and extend downwardly from the ends there-of. The rolls 26 and 28 are substantially identical in construction, each consisting of metal tube 34 which is internally reinforced to preclude deflection and provided with a surface coating or layer 36 of a material, such as high density polyurethane to provide the necessary grip for drive purposes. The drive roll 28 is connected by a coupling 38 to a variable speed drive motor assembly 40 mounted on the base 12 and operable to rotate the roll 28.

The upper or driven roll 26 is mounted at its ends 42 and 44 in spherical pillow blocks 46 and 48 which are mounted on the upper ends of extensible roll support assemblies 50 which are mounted on the ends 16 and 18 of the frame 14. An assembly 50 consists of an upright sleeve 52 (FIGS. 1 and 5) in which an upright bar 54 is guidably supported in bearings 56, only one of which is shown. Each bar 54 supports the pillow block at its upper end and is attached at its lower end to the piston rod 58 in a hydraulic jack unit 60 which is operable to extend the piston rod 58 so as to move the bar 54 upwardly. The jack 60 is supported on a structural unit 62 secured to the adjacent side of the main frame 14. In the case of the extensible assembly 50 for the pillow block 46, the structural support 62 is secured to a downwardly extending block 64 which is vertically aligned with a block 66 mounted on the base 12. A riser 68 is removably inserted between the blocks 64 and 66 so as to span the distance therebetween and provide for the block 66 performing a supporting function for the assembly 50 when desired. This supporting function is desired during rotation of the rolls 26 and 28 to drive a belt thereon, such a belt being illustrated at 70 in FIG. 2, since the frame 14 is otherwise only cantilever supported on the structural member 24. The support on the block 66 thus precludes roll deflection due to frame deflection. When it is desired to mount a belt 70 to be finished on the rolls 26 and 28 or remove a finished belt 70 from the rolls, the riser 68 is removed. As illustrated in FIG. 2, when the riser 68 is removed, the lower periphery of the roll 28 is spaced above the support block 66, so that the belt can be moved through the space between the blocks 64 and 66 during installation and removal of the belt.

It can thus be seen that the extensible assemblies 50 are operable to move the pillow blocks 46 and 48 up and down to thereby move the upper roll 26 to an ad justed position for a particular belt 70 supported thereon. In other words, the upper roll 26 is moved to a position in which the belt 70 will be driven so that it moves perpendicular to the axis of drive roll 28. In case the belt 70 has one edge slightly longer than the other, the upper roll 26 is moved to a position lightly out of parallel with roll 28 so that the belt will not creep on the rolls. The upper roll 26 is maintained in such an adjusted position by locking units 98 associated with each of the assemblies 50. Each locking unit 98 (FIG. consists of a locking pin 100 which is slidably supported in a bearing 102 carried by the sleeve 52 and arranged perpendicular to the direction of movement of the bar 54. Each looking pin 100 is formed with an inclined surface 104 which is engageable with a complementary surface 106 formed on a block 108 attached, such as by bolts 110, to the bar 54. When the bar 54 is in a desired adjusted position, the pin 100 is moved toward the bar 54 to a position in which the surfaces 104 and 106 engage. The pressure on the hydraulic jack unit 60 can then be relieved and the pin 100 will maintain the bar 54 in its moved position.

The pin 100 can be retracted relative to surface 106 by means of a lever 112 provided with a handle 114 and pivotally supported intermediate its ends on a pin 116 attached to a bracket 118 secured to the sleeve 52. The lever 112 is pivotally connected by a link 120 to the pin 100. As a result, when the lever 112 is moved manually in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 5, the pin 100 is retracted.

A compression spring 122 mounted in a guide tube 124 secured to the sleeve 52 urges the lever 112 in a clockwise direction to prevent accidental retraction of the locking pin 100. The tube 124 has slots 126 in its sides and the lever 112 extends through the slots into engagement with spring 122 which thus urges pin 100 to its locking position. Thus, when it is desired to adjust the position of the bar 54, the piston rod 58 is first extended to move the surface 106 out of contact with the surface 104, and the lever 112 is then moved against the pressure of the spring 122 to retract the pin 100. The position of the bar 54 is then adjusted and the lever 112 released to re-engage the surfaces 104 and 106.

In the case of the pillow block 48 only, a sled 72 is interposed between the upper end of the bar 54 and the pillow block 48, the sled 72 being movable transversely of the roll 26. As a result, the position of the sled 72 can be adjusted along with the positions of the bars 54 to provide for a movement of the roll 26 to a desired adjusted position.

A slide or table support 80 (FIG. 2) is mounted on a guide 82 carried by the base 12 so'that the slide 80 can be moved along a path which is parallel to the axis of the lower roll 28. A drive unit 84 drives a screw 86 associated with the slide 80 for moving the slide 80 horizontally back and forth along this path. A grinder wheel 88 is mounted on the slide 80 and is driven by a motor unit 90 so that the wheel 88 is rotated in a vertical plane. The wheel 88 is mounted on an adjustable unit 92 so that the wheel 88 can be moved into adjusted Positions in which it is engageable with a belt 70 on the rolls 26 and 28 for removing small amounts of material from the belt 70.

It can thus be seen that the lower or drive roll 28 is mounted on the frame 14 in a position in which it rotates about a fixed axis, indicated at 94. The upper or driven roll 26 is mounted so that its position can be adjusted to a position relative to the drive roll axis 94 such that the desired movement of the belt 70 will be obtained. The grinding wheel 88 is mounted so that it can be moved along a path parallel to the axis 94. As a result, when a belt 70 is trained about the rolls 28 and 26, and the roll 28 is driven so as to move the belt past the grinding wheel 88, the grinding wheel 88 can be reciprocated on the guides 82 along the width of the belt 70 so as to grind the belt to a uniform thickness. The belt 70 can be of any width up to a width corresponding to the length of the rolls 26 and 28; once one surface of a belt 70 has been ground, the belt can be removed from the rolls and turned inside out and remounted on the rolls 26 and 28 for grinding of the opposite side.

From the above description it is seen that this invention provides apparatus 10 which is capable of moving an endless belt 70 along a path located such that the outer surface of the belt travels parallel to the path of movement of the machine element 88, which in this case is a grinding wheel, so that the belt can be machined to a uniform thickness. In order to provide the desired finish on the belt surfaces, a buffing wheel support assembly 130 (FIGS. 1 and 2) is mounted on the base 12 on the side of the lower roll 28 opposite to the side on which the grinding wheel 88 is mounted. The assembly 130 consists of a shaft 132 removably mounted at its ends in bearing assemblies 133 mounted on supports 134 which are pivotally supported on axially aligned shafts 136 carried by the base 12. The supports 134 are connected by a brace 138 which is pivotally connected to the piston rod 140 for a cylinder assembly 142 mounted on the base 12.

The shaft 132 is adapted to have the necessary number of conventional buff wheels, indicated collectively at 144, mounted thereon, and the shaft is driven by a unique drive transmitter 135 capable of transmitting torque to the shaft 132 while at the same time allowing reciprocation of shaft 132. The transmitter 135 includes a body 137 which is secured to a drive shaft 146 which is in turn connected to a chain drive assembly 148 driven by a motor 150 on the base 12. The motor 150 is thus operable to rotate the body 137 at a desired speed dependent on the sizes of the sprockets employed in the chain drive. A pair of rollers 139 mounted on the body 137, and thus driven thereby, grippingly engage opposite sides of the shaft 132 so as to rotate shaft 132 as body 137 is rotated. Motor 150 thus rotates the bufiing wheels 144 and the cylinder assembly 142 is operable to move the buffing members 144 into engagement with the belt 70 as it is driven around the rolls 26 and 28. A pneumatic cylinder assembly 152, mounted on a bracket 154 secured to one of the supports 134, has its piston rod 156 connected by a coupling 158 to the shaft 132. The cylinder assembly 152 reciprocates the piston llOd 156 which in turn reciprocates the shaft 132 in the rollers 139. This results in a back and forth movement of the bufiing wheels 144 on the belt 70 so as to avoid any grooving of the belt by the bufiing wheels and provide the desired belt finish. Only small reciprocal movements of the buffing wheels 144, on the order of two inches, are required to accomplish this purpose. Thus, once a belt has been machined to a uniform thickness, the surfaces of the belt are readily buffed without removing it from the apparatus 12.

It will be understood that the apparatus for finishing endless belts which is herein disclosed and described is presented for purposes of explanation and illustration and is not intended to indicate limits of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus comprising a base, a roll-support rectangular frame disposed vertically above and in a spaced relation with said base, said frame having a pair of spaced ends and a pair of spaced upper and lower sides, a pair of substantially parallel rolls rotatably supported on said frame adjacent to said sides thereof so that one of said rolls is below said lower side and adjacent to said base and the other of said rolls is above said upper side, means on one of said ends rigidly supporting said frame in cantilever-fashion on said base so that said rolls can have a belt to be finished trained thereabout by moving the belt over the other of said ends, means for rotating one of said rolls for driving a belt trained about said rolls, slide means on said base movable parallel to the axis of said one roll, and belt finishing means on said slide means engageable with a belt trained about said rolls.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which extensible means are mounted on said frame in a supporting relation with the other one of said rolls, said extensible means being operated to adjust the spacing between the ends of said rolls.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which said extensible means comprises upright sleeves mounted on the ends of said frame, bar means guidably supported in said sleeves and arranged in a supporting relation with the ends of said other roll, and jack means mounted on said frame and engaged with said bar means for moving said bar means so as to adjust the positions of the ends of said other roll.

4. Apparatus comprising a base, a roll support frame disposed above and in a spaced relation with said base, said frame having a pair of spaced ends and a pair of spaced sides, a pair of substantially parallel rolls rotatably supported on said frame adjacent said sides thereof so that one of said rolls is adjacent said base, means on one end of said frame rigidly supporting said frame on said base so that said rolls can have a belt to be finished trained thereabout by moving the belt over the opposite end of said frame, means for rotating one of said rolls for driving a belt trained about said rolls, slide means on said base movable parallel to said one roll, extensible means mounted on said frame in a supporting relation with the other one of said rolls, said extensible means being operable to adjust the spacing between the ends of said rolls and including sleeves mounted on the ends of said frame, bar means guidably supported in said sleeves and arranged in a supporting relation with the ends of said other roll and jack means mounted on said frame and engaged with said bar means for moving said bar means so as to adjust the positions of the ends of said other rolls, means for releasably locking said bars in adjusted positions, said locking means including means on each of said bars providing an inclined locking surface extending transversely of the direction of movement of said bar, a locking pin slidably mounted on each of said sleeves for movement transversely thereof, each of said pins having an inclined surface complementary in shape to the locking surface on the bar associated therewith and means urging each of said locking pins in a direction to urge the inclined surface thereon into engagement with the locking surface on the bar associated therewith so that said pins will hold said bars in adjusted positions when the forces of the jack means on said bars is released, and belt finishing means on said slide means engageable with a belt trained about said rolls.

5. Apparatus according to claim 3 in which sled means is interposed between one of said roll ends and one of said bars, said sled means being movable transversely of the axis of said roll.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said rolls are substantially horizontal and said other roll is disposed above said one roll, and in which said rotating means COlIllSlStS of drive means on said base coupled to said one r0 7. Apparatus according to claim 6 in which said finishing means consists of a rotatable grinder wheel.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 in which said grinder wheel is supported on said base on one side of said one roll and further including bulfing means and means on said base on the other side of said one roll for supporting such bufiing means adjacent said one roll so that a belt can be ground and bufied without changing its mounted position on said rolls.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 in which said means for supporting buffing means consists of a shaft mounted on said base in a parallel relation with said one roll, and further including means for both rotating and reciprocating said shaft.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 in which said last mentioned means includes a pair of rollers engaged with opposite sides of said shaft and capable of transmitting torque to said shaft during reciprocation of said shaft on said rollers.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 211,296 1/1879 Currier 5175 396,553 1/1889 Fowle 5l-75 X 1,157,844 10/ 1915 Carroll 51-75 X 2,705,391 4/1955 Spalding. 2,986,849 6/ 1961 Clark 51-5 3,036,408 5/ 1962 Hansen 51-74 X 3,150,468 9/1964 Van Huyzen 51--38 3,165,865 l/l965 Bousquet 51-l42 X 3,325,947 6/ 1967 Burt 51138 ROBERT C. RIORDON, Primary Examiner. D. G. KELLY, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 15-77; 5139 

